Monday, December 13, 2010

Prosopography

Prosopography \pros-uh-POG-ruh-fee\ , noun;
1. A description of a person's appearance, career, personality, etc.
2. A study of a collection of persons or characters, especially their appearances, careers, personalities, etc., within a historical, literary, or social context

According to the Oxford English Dictionary this word came from the post-classical Latin prosopographia and was a "personification" (1564), then a description of a person's appearance (1577), then of an individuals life (1610). Ultimately this word derives from prosopoeia which is the "face created" in Greek.

*Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Monday, December 13

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